SODA TAX HAS POWERFUL ENEMIES IN WASHINGTON: Mayor Michael Bloomberg may well have spent last night with a cigar in one hand and a glass of something other than a soft drink in the other. He had cause for celebration after the New York City Board of Health approved Bloomberg’s proposal to restrict the sale of super-sized sugary soda drinks.

That was not an easy feat. But if advocates in Washington, D.C. think Bloomberg’s victory might bring momentum for a similar ban or tax on a national level, we have some statistics they might want to consider.

Big Soda is worth billions. That’s no secret. But the investments the industry pumps into the nation’s capital are equally eye-popping.

The industry is packed with players that depend on sugar for their bottom line, and some of the its heaviest hitters traffic in exactly the sort of stuff that Bloomberg targeted: Coca-Cola spent $5.89 million lobbying the federal government in 2011, more than any other company or trade group in the industry, according to Center for Responsive Politics research. Coke’s rival PepsiCo Inc wasn’t far behind in the No. 2 spot, dropping $3.2 million into the mix. McDonald’s, whose fast food joints make millions selling Coke products each year and will be affected by New York’s action, spent $1.5 million. That’s to say nothing of powerful trade groups like the National Restaurant Association and the American Beverage Association, both of which oppose such initiatives.

The list goes on. And that was 2011, a year when K Street, facing a Congress preparing for a presidential election year, wasn’t exactly humming. But one doesn’t need to look much farther back in time to find a year when policy makers were actively considering a soda tax. In 2009, lawmakers considered placing the option into what would eventually become the Affordable Care Act. Here’s how those same companies reacted, in federal lobbying expenditures:

Cocoa-Cola: $12.4 million

Pepsi Co: $9.37 million

McDonalds: $480,000 (admittedly low)

American Beverage Association: $18.8 million

National Restaurant Association: $2.9 million

That’s nearly $44 million combined in just four organizations. The industry overall that year spent an all-time high of almost $57.7 million. You do the math.

SUPER PAC DYNAMIC IN CONNECTICUT?: The U.S. Senate race in Connecticut is one of the closest of the 2012 election cycle. It’s also shaping up to be among the most expensive: Candidates Linda McMahon (R) and Chris Murphy (D) had already spent $19 million on the race by July 25, and that was all before primary day.

Voters already rejected McMahon as a Senate candidate in her contest against Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 cycle. But McMahon, having spent $50 million of her personal wealth in that race, has shown a willingness to dip into her own pocket to run a competitive race.

She’s also shown no reluctance to jump into the super PAC game. Linda and her husband Vince, who owns World Wide Wrestling Entertainment, both cut $75,000 checks to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future in June.

Meanwhile, Murphy, an avowed anti-fan of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that helped open the door to super PAC spending, got his own boost when lobbyists formed a new super PAC to defend the seat from McMahon. What’s more: Connecticut.com reports that the former head of Connecticut’s Election Enforcement Commission, Jeffrey Garfield — another avowed opponent of special interest money in politics — signed on as assistant treasurer of the super PAC.

So far, the group, Connecticut’s Future, has not disclosed raising or spending a cent. But that might change come Sept. 20, when most super PACs (those scheduled to file monthly) are slated to reveal donors. With money already playing a huge role in the race, McMahon’s millions and possible super PAC action bear watching.

HE HELPS THE INCUMBENT RAISE THOUSANDS…IN A SINGLE EVENING: If you ever got the sense from those Dos Equis commercials that Jonathan Goldsmith, or “the most interesting man in the world,” as he’s known in the commercials, is one well-connected dude, pat yourself on the back.

Goldsmith will leverage those connections next Tuesday when he hosts a fundraiser in Vermont for President Barack Obama, according to Sunlight Foundation’s Party Time Blog, which tracks political fundraising events.

But has Goldsmith recently opened his wallet (money clip?) for a political candidate or group? Using the OpenSecrets.org Donor Lookup feature, which allows users to search for individual donations by name, we found none in the 2011-2012 cycle.

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